Ardat Yakshi
by Amtrack
Summary: The short story of an Ardat-Yakshi who only wanted to live her own life, told through her journal and the eyes of her pursuer.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello! These will be very short chapters, so I'll keep this short.  
I'd been toying with an Ardat Yakshi OC for a while, so when I needed to write a short story for University, this seemed like the perfect opportunity to flesh her out.  
As always, please leave a review!**

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The datapad lies in a torn-up apartment. Looking around, you would never guess it was the home of a killer. An Asari. Well, the blue humanoids did do a lot with their four or so hundred years of youth. Not that their Matriarchs cared. Omega was a hollowed out asteroid. A former mining complex overrun with the lowlifes of the galaxy; the best place for a killer to hide. Not that the shattered shelving and the bed, bent and warped, give the impression of safety. The Justicar had gotten here first. Bloody tentacle-haired Asari. And she even left a datapad for you. It's probably just another warning; but on the off-chance it isn't... You might as well see what it says.

"I am not a monster!"

Those aren't the words of a self-righteous religious warrior. "I'm not! I... It wasn't my fault!" The girl in the recording is young; can't be past her twenties. Well, human twenties. For an Asari, she was probably a couple of hundred years old.

"How could I know!? It's not my fault!" Sighing, you close the datapad. You don't need her justifications. You just need to find her before the Justicar. You will find your sister's killer; but the datapad will have clues. Grimacing, you open the next video.

"I... I'm an Ardat-Yakshi. I think that's what we're called. I… When Asari mate, our minds… bond with our partner. We share sensations, feelings… It's supposed to be beautiful. That's what Mother said." She laughs bitterly. "Not me. When I mate... I think mother said my nervous system overpowers the other person's. She said something about brain haemorrhaging. I don't know! All I know is that people die when I sleep with them! And it feels good! Why does it feel good!? It shouldn't feel good!"

The girl in the image... she's crying? Why is she crying!? She has no right to cry! Not after what she's done!

"I... I'm going to run. Mother said Ardat-Yakshi can only live in solitude, and she found a Justicar! I… Justicars have a code, you see, and if an Ardat-Yakshi won't hide in a monastery, they kill her! I can't live in a monastery! I can't just hide from the world! I just… I can't! It's not my fault!"

The video ends. She didn't even mention your sister. She decided her whole future there and then! And the girl she murdered wasn't even worth mentioning! You leave the apartment, heading back to your ship. Your job at Citadel Security was going to have to wait for you a little longer.


	2. Chapter 2

"Her name was Sasha."

You sneer at the girl in the video. She was keeping a diary on that datapad. 'The Life of a Monster', it should be titled. You could make a killing releasing these. Or you might end up murdered in a gutter. The journal keeps playing.

"I killed her. It... it was going to be our special night. It was our first time. We were going to be each other's first time and in the morning... I woke up and she was dead!"

You watch as she breaks down, sobbing. Tossing the datapad to one side of your sterile cabin, you begin to stalk from the room.

"My name is Lara T'Rani. I killed the girl I love and it felt good! I'm going to Omega. At least... at least there I won't have to worry about who I kill."

You pause. She went to Omega so quickly? That can't be right. Retrieving the datapad, you glance at the next few entries; the backgrounds tell a clear story: She was on Omega. How could that be? Your tip-off was only a week ago; she was captured on a Human Alliance ship. You take another look at the diary. The early Omega entries are fairly similar, and about what anyone might expect. 'I've made it to Omega.' 'I'm not a monster.' 'I'm preying on Eclipse mercenaries.' Well, Eclipse initiation did include murder. You make a note to thank her before you kill her.


	3. Chapter 3

"I saved a girl today."

What? You rewind the recording. "I saved a girl today." You didn't mishear.

"She was being followed by Eclipse mercs. I think… I think they were going to rape her. From what I heard them saying…" She shudders. "I killed them. I killed them all. Didn't even leave one alive to sate myself later, I… Her name is Fiona and she… Fiona!? No don't-"

The recording cuts off. The next entry's only timestamped an hour later.

"Fiona was listening. She can't listen, this is private. Besides, what would I do if she found out I… Oh Goddess. I kill people to get highs. Colour drains from the world and my body hurts when I don't. Why is it still so hard to say what- to say I'm…" She looks around. "I'm an Ardat-Yakshi." The girl's shoulders slump. "I guess I just admitted it. I'm an Ardat-Yakshi. I'm the Asari's dirty little secret. I just… And all of a sudden everything seems so distant."

She was in denial? How could- You're never going to understand this girl. How many people had she killed when she recorded that? How could she have ever doubted being a monster? You need to find out where she went. You scroll to the final entry, your finger hovers over it. Just one little button. Dammit. Next entry.

"This girl is amazing. She helps me pick out Eclipse targets, and is surprisingly good with a gun. We stay away from the Blue Suns and Blood Pack. I don't like Batarians, and Vorcha are just plain scary. Gross too. But Fiona… Goddess, she trusts me! I can't let her find out what I am. I couldn't face her if she knew…"

You throw the datapad away. What's the point of going through these entries? What do you hope to gain? Damn her! Why does she have to be so… human? You need a drink.


	4. Chapter 4

"I'm going to try getting clean."

Lara's eyes were staring straight at the camera. The Ardat-Yakshi's voice was clearer than it had been in a long while.

"I'm going to suffer withdrawal. Last time I was too slow to mate, colours started to drain from the world. It seemed a darker place. My muscles cramped and my body ached. But I've got to do this. The way Fiona looks at me… her laugh is so beautiful, and when her gun flashes her hair just shines. I think I might be falling for her. I… I'm pretty sure she likes me as well. If anything is going to come of this, then I need to be clean. I can't risk my addiction getting the better of me. I can't kill her like I killed Sasha. I won't."

Your heavy sigh punctuates the sound of the datapad landing on your desk. You check the clock; it's later than you thought. Three days of listening to an Ardat-Yakshi's journal. The girl who killed your sister keeps getting further and further away. Sasha had always said you could never let things go and months after her death, it looks like she was right. She was always right about things like that. You could see why Lara had loved her. You look at the journal, rubbing your eyes. This girl had murdered your sister, and your tip hadn't mentioned another girl. Did she kill her too? Tch. So much for going clean.

You quickly prepare some food, preparing for a night of little sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

"I've got to leave Omega!"

Lara's eyes were frantic. What happened to her resolve? Her last few entries had included complaints of cramps and aches, but nothing to even come close to panicking about.

"Fiona told me there was a Justicar here, asking after me. She didn't use my name or condition, but she described me as a monster. I guess she doesn't want anyone to know what Asari can be, even on Omega.

"I need to run. I can take Fiona. We can steal the Justicar's ship and we'll go anywh- Argh!" Lara doubles over, clutching her stomach. Fumbling for the camera, Lara lowers herself to the floor.

"The cramps are getting worse. I feel numb and deaf and blind. Goddess, this is bad. We can't steal the Justicar's ship; we don't have her access codes. Ugh!"

"Lara," A door slams as a new voice sounds off-screen. "You in? I've scoped out tonight's… Lara!" Running footsteps, then a girl is kneeling over the incapacitated Asari. A human girl with an angular face and delicate features.

"Fiona," Lara gasps. The camera falls to the floor.

You listen as the human, Fiona, helps Lara onto a couch, just outside the camera's field of vision. You hear Lara beg her to stay. You hear Lara's confession, and the silence that follows. You see Fiona's knees bend and hear the relief in Lara's sobbing. You see Fiona's knees bend as she picks up the camera, ending the recording. You check the date: A little over two weeks ago.


	6. Chapter 6

"I'm a monster."

Lara's voice is hollow, her tear-stained face stares at the floor.

"We… We stole an Eclipse ship, but we got caught. They chased us. We escaped the system, but by the time we did, the ship was barely holding together. We climbed into an escape pod, and jettisoned. The core went critical a few minutes later. Then we drifted. We activated the pod's distress beacon, but there planet we were orbiting didn't seem colonised. We drifted for nearly a week when…

"Fiona said she loved me. She didn't want to die without … She knew what I was. She knew what would happen. She said… it was the only way she wanted to die." She hiccups. You didn't know Asari could get those.

"A human patrol found us an hour later. I... I panicked! They had me tied down, they mentioned Sasha's sister. Sarah, her name's Sarah. They said she was coming to pick me up and then they… They said I killed Fiona on purpose. The looks they gave me… I killed them. I killed them all. I'm going back to Omega. Sarah will find me there. I'll… She's going to kill me or arrest me. She deserves the chance to do that."

You put down the datapad as the last entry finishes. Somewhere in this rock is an Ardat-Yakshi with the blood of both her lovers on her hands. Somewhere on Omega is the girl who killed your sister. You glance at your closet; at the Citadel Security uniform inside. You pull your gun from a compartment in the bottom before closing the door. You're going to find your sister's killer. Hopefully, you can reach her before the Justicar does and when you find her… You glance at the diary. Well, you'll just have to see what happens.


End file.
